Words have meanings!
By ElicBxn
@ElicBxn (64169)
United States
January 18, 2010 11:02pm CST
I debated whether to put this in cats - since its a cat story or in some other interest - like maybe writing.
But its is a cat story - so, here goes!
I had caught a cat - the cat we suspect might've been Taj's mom, who was VERY feral.
So, I make an appointment to get her spayed. I tell them when I call that she's a feral cat.
I tell them when I get to the hospital that she's a feral cat.
They take me to this room that has NO doors and said: "Well, lets see her."
I tell them. "I've told you, she's feral. If she gets loose here she is YOUR problem, I'm not going to help you catch her again."
Realization dawned. "You mean she's really feral."
"Yes. I live trapped her last night."
"ohhhh..." they then took me to a room where there was a door and then they just looked at these glowing eyes from the back of the carrier...
"What do you know about her?" they asked.
"She's been living at Wendy's and she has 2 sons that look like one of my cats."
"And you want her spayed?"
"Yes, oh, and she's very pregnant."
"What about the kittens?"
"There doesn't need to be more feral kittens around... You might give her a rabies shot and check her for other stuff."
That was a pretty expensive spay, turned out she had the stuff on her nails that causes cat scratch fever, but nobody got scratched.
A few days later we caught the younger of the 2 sons and got him fixed too.
I don't know what happened to the mother. We kept her at the house for about 2 weeks before we took her back - we were trying to catch the last son - but he was on to us. We finally returned them, gave Wendy's the rabies tags for the 2 we did catch.
Mom left soon after, but the other one, who we called "Little Brother" because he was younger than Taj, was at Wendy's for years. I haven't seen him lately, but there is a cat house beside the dumpster so he might still be there.
I do know he made it to about 6 yrs old, a very old feral cat I might add.
But I was almighty annoyed that they didn't seem to believe me when I used the correct word for a domestic animal that is wild - feral.
I was told later that they hadn't believe one person about a pretty wild parrot and it took them a MONTH to catch it, so my threat to not help them catch the mom was taken seriously - the parrot owner also refused to help them catch it when they didn't put him in a room with a door.
So, do you find it annoying when people don't believe you when you tell them something? How about when they use a word wrong?
Yes, I know Maggie -you HATE that!
6 people like this
15 responses
@minx267 (15526)
• Hartford, Connecticut
19 Jan 10
I've never been in a Vet's office that didn't have a door.
Does feral have a different terminology to these people?
I have had cats that were born in my house but were so wild and wouldn't even let me touch them that I would still tell people that they were feral. I mean - I wouldn't want to handle them -well, they wouldn't let me..
I think they were throwbacks- it was in their genes. They're grandfather was seriously the ugliest cat I had ever seen. I was very scared when my cat got pregnant and I knew it was the father.. ( I had gotten evicted and had to move in with my aunt who refused to let my cats (unfixed) live in the house.. And I hadn't the money to fix them -so I quickly went from 5 cats to 11 and started on the road to hell). They turned out to be great kittens though.. -the next generation however
and subsequent ones have reverted to the wild state.. Lucky those 2 FERAL boys were fixed before they decided to run away from home and to the neighbors.. She feeds a feral community in her back yard.. They loved it there.
Then the neighbors dogs got one of them. I was very upset as I was chasing these dogs and on the phone with the police for almost an hour and then No_na-me who was safe in a tree freaked because I talked to him and ran out of the tree and was killed 5 minutes later... Feral doesn't always work out well.
He was about 10 years old and had lived out side for the last 3, but if he just trusted me even a little he'd still be alive.
back to the topic at hand... Yes, it is annoying when you can't communicate with people.. I mostly have a reverse problem. It's not that people don't believe me when I use a certain word... It's that they don't even know the word I am using.
So many people nowadays don't even try to better their vocabulary.
LOL, I just remembered playing scrabble with my aunt a couple of weeks ago.. And I put down a word and she questioned me on it.. I didn't think it was that uncommon of a word and she is not a stupid person. So I had to tell her the meaning of this word that I would have thought most people should know -but apparently I am wrong in assuming that people learned Vocabulary in English class. Maybe she was absent that day.
LOL
2 people like this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
19 Jan 10
I remember one person saying that if they got challenged, they got a free double word score for any word that was successfully challenged. I spell so poorly that I wouldn't PLAY unless I could look up words in the dictionary! And I still got the tar beaten out of me by others!
Oh well, probably I don't play now!
Yeah, I feel for ya.
Mitten, my outside cat was a semi-feral and she made it to 16 - but she did spend a lot of time inside.
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
19 Jan 10
we had a neighbor who had a big, long haired tabby named "Fluffy" talk about an INterESTing name for a big old tom.
I got 2 cats from the neighborhood that I think were related - Gnu and Hobo. Hobo has a pix in my profile - on the "wanted" poster.
Other than Taj, Rio and the 3 young ferals I don't have any neighborhood cats. All the rest are rescued from various places.
Rygel is the last cat from the apartment complex that Maggiepie lives and he's staying.
Roxie, Tuti and Nef were from former co-workers of the roommate and she works from home now.
Oliver, Flower and Blossom, Zhaan, and Gizmo were from the roomie's folks area.
Ping, Pong, and Gabby arrived after someone said something to a friend of ours in Pflugerville.
Timus, Kit and Chalube came to us from a lady who had another rescue - before we started ours. Sassy came from a different one before that.
And Tony is my mylot cat - someone posted finding a kitten and rather than let her give him away at walmart where someone else might decided to put the "cat" out for the night - he was about 8 weeks old - in JANUARY!!! I drove down and got him.
The rest - from here and there, most of them are staying, but some are looking for homes.
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
19 Jan 10
yup.particularily vets.
i had to run my oldest in on emergency one morning to the "other" vet,as usual my "kids" knew when their doc was on vacation..
his sister bit him,knocked him off a dresser and caused an abcess/sprained ankle.
anyway..they had to call the vet's service to get his records as they'd never seen him..and on the records,he is labeled "feisty" for good reason.
(normally he's sweet,except where shots/thermometers are involved..but who can blame him?)
the vet wouldn't believe the records,wouldn't believe me when i said he'll need more than 1 handler..by shot 3 of 5 he was bouncing off the walls angry and as he is multitoed more than well armed.the vet got a nice honking owie out of that one because he chose not to listen.i had no pity for him.
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
19 Jan 10
that's about his average-at least three.
but if they'd let me be one of the holders,he would have behaved a lot better.
they have this thing here where they don't want you restraining your own animal,though often it would be better if you did.
2 people like this
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
19 Jan 10
It reminds me of many things. Like when you go to the doctors and tell him what's wrong, and they look at you like you don't know what you're talking about. Or, you go to a mechanic, tell him what's wrong, and they think you're crazy. Same here, you told them, and they don't believe you. I'm sure you get the jest of what I'm saying. Whatever. I don't like when people make you look stupid, it only makes THEM look more stupid.
2 people like this
@tamarafireheart (15384)
•
19 Jan 10
Hi Elic,
You are doing so much good for the cats but these people, I cannot understand why they would not take your word for it when you told them its a Ferral cat, the good thing is it is done and well done to you.
Tamara
2 people like this
@kaylachan (84815)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
19 Jan 10
Reminds me of the argument I had with the vet, the first couple of vets, actually that I took Precious to. I simply expressed to have him tested for everything including feline distemper, and feline lukimia. They tested for the second and not the first. When I talked to them about it, they acted like that distemper didn't exist.
I know I felt like twitching, because they kept asking me if I meant something else, rabbies perhaps, but god I wanted to rip my hair out. So if they weren't going to test him for it, then I requested he get treated for it. Vacanated, but again... the brick wall...
I finally gave up tried another vet... once again.... brick wall.... talking down to me like I had two heads. I was anoyed.
Vet number three (our current vet) tested him for everything... vacanated him too. Same happened when we found our cat Chinnia. I am sticking with vet number three.... bandfield people.... thats right Banfield. They offer to do tests to help with things. I decline of course, but I like that they offer.
Bandfield may be more expencive, but it shows they care about their animals.
2 people like this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
19 Jan 10
Some vets feel that its a waste of money testing for these things since if the cat is an adult it isn't going to hurt it if it catches it - and by adulthood it is past the point where it probably will - but they should've explained WHY they didn't want to test/vaccinate
Now, I do know someone who works for Banfield - I think she's in the Atlanta area now - so I don't think they are bad vets by any stretch, but they do what they need to do to keep customers coming back.
@kaylachan (84815)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
19 Jan 10
No it was nothing like that. I know all about it, but wanted to have him checked because I had been without him for a year. My family lets in strays and I didn't know what he had, or had not been exposed to. When he was younger he was prone to infection. I didn't want to take my chances for his sake and mine. So I have had him re-tested for everything as soon as I got him back in my arms. So that's why, though I don't think the other two should've acted like nothing like that existed.
Florida Law states pets have to have their shots updated at least once a year, (except for reabies) which, in some cases is done every thhree years. Go figure....
But, distemper is included in the list of shots they get.
2 people like this
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
21 Jan 10
Yes I do hate that as it always seems they do not think that we know what we are talking about, it makes us look stupid
I come across a Vet like that 2 Years ago, I told him he had to mussel Gissi as he is scared and will bite, the stupid Vet sent me out as he said I was making Gissi nervous, well guess what he went to check Gissi and Gissi snapped at him as a Warning so then he decided to put the Mussel on, the Nurse who was in there was not happy with the Vet at all how he handled things
I never took Gissi back there
@GardenGerty (169479)
• United States
20 Jan 10
I do not like it when anyone does not believe me and act like I am exaggerating or making things up. I also dislike wrong word usage. Especially when it seems like people are choosing obscure words to show off.
1 person likes this
@Aurone (4755)
• United States
19 Jan 10
yes, I do or when they assume you are making up words because you have a larger vocab then they do. A PhD once told me I used an nonexistent word, which I later found in the dictionary. heh. I also had when doctors and vets don't believe you. I happen to have two degrees in biology so when I tell a doctor or vet something I am not exaggerating or making it up, I know what I am talking about. Often they don't listen to me and I end up making another visit because they are too busy to listen.
2 people like this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
19 Jan 10
That is annoying. I have 2 different vets I go to - one clinic is 2 vets and they are nearly interchangeable - I don't care who I see, they know me.
The other clinic I try to always see the one vet that I've known since she was a child - well, we were both children okay, but I was a bit older....
She told me once - tho you understand, that don't have any medical training, just what I've learned from owning cats - that she has to believe me when I say what I think might be wrong, because I've got about a 90% success rate. If I'm mystified, its something I haven't run into before, and after over 50 cats in over 30 years, I've run into a LOT of stuff!
The last time I was truly mystified, the lab she sent the tumor to grilled her to make sure she had taken it out of a cat, because it was so uncommon in cats. It was like - 3 options and the 3rd was the least expensive - at like $350 in 1994 - and turned out to be the best one because it was cancer!
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (51823)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
19 Jan 10
That's one of the things that irks me about a neighbor... I tell her something, like the water heater has nothing to do with the furnace, they're not connected, they're completely separate, and she won't believe it until a guy tells her the same thing.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (51823)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
19 Jan 10
Every day, and twice on Sunday!
1 person likes this
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
19 Jan 10
The problem is that many people are using the word feral when they mean stray. I say I found a stray cat. It's "in" to say feral now. So they probably did precautions many times for nothing, tying up a better room for nothing. You're very lucky that they took a real feral cat. There are vets up here that are saying,"No" to real feral cats. But here all the vet's offices have doors.
Tame animals can be very fast when they want to be. My cat,Baby, is very tame and loving, but he sees a needle and an assistant walk through a door at the same time, and he's OFF! The grand chase through the cage area, if cornered, through their legs. He's speedy!
Creamy (Creamcycle) is a contortionist. He can twist that fat body around like nobody's business. If you won't let him go after he's twisted, turned and become a fat pretzel, that's it, you've had it. All four paws and his big mouth come clamping down on you. It's self-defense time; I'm a good guy, but this is it! POW!
I retame strays that have gotten a little wild, actually mostly cautious or had bad experiences, but basically they will hang out with people once they trust you. However some people watch commercials, hear the word, "Feral" and don't know that word from stray. I kid you not.
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
19 Jan 10
Well, I had them fix ferals before, but not as feral as this one. Even then, when Mitten was done, they believed me and didn't want to take her out - I don't know what they were thinking wanting to take this one out.
Now, this was 7 yrs ago - would the commercials have been the same then?
1 person likes this
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
20 Jan 10
Can't speak for there.
Here I think the Feral fund has only been going for 5 years.
1 person likes this
@commanderxo (1494)
• Canada
19 Jan 10
People will be people.
If you tell a person that there are a billions stars in the night sky that they can see, they will believe you. However, if you tell the same person that you just painted your fence, they will touch it to prove you wrong.
People will be people.
cdrxo
@commanderxo (1494)
• Canada
20 Jan 10
It is indeed...and more than not, quite often true.
cdrxo
1 person likes this
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
22 Jan 10
What’s difficult to understand? F-e-r-a-l cat means not domesticated, I have no veterinary training and I understand what that means...It seems to me that they couldn’t be bothered listening properly when you phoned which is something I hate more than a lot of things; not being heard! What you are doing for these cats is wonderful, are you paying for the operations yourself? A lot more like you are needed that’s for sure! You are a very caring person indeed ElicBxn!
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
22 Jan 10
I've paid for most of them. When I was working with the rescue in 2007, and we placed 16 cats at $125 a pop, she paid for about 10 - at like $30 so, we still have 2 that she paid for. But that's all right - I didn't have to screen those people - and that's 16 cats NOT in my house! Now, if we can just get the "Bouquet girls" & Roxie in new homes and a nice barn for the "Three E's" I'd be really happy!
@cerebellum (3863)
• United States
20 Jan 10
I HATE telling someone something and they don't believe you. They act like they know everything and it's not your job so they must know more than you do. It seems a lot of doctors and girls that work in the doctors office (not the nurses) are like that. Not all, but enough. I have never run into a Vet that was like that. I have a cousin that is like that. She worked in the medical field 10 or 15 years ago, and she still thinks she knows everything that is going on, and more than the doctors.
I didn't know you could get a cat spayed after she is already pregnant.
@cerebellum (3863)
• United States
20 Jan 10
Your right, the last thing we need is more strays that no one takes care of. Congratulations, you made the right move, even if the Vet did upset you.
1 person likes this
